Another year on ... and still waiting 1 January 2021 saw the transition period end and a new chapter in the relationship between Britain and the EU open. In his third and final article on Brexit Swedish-based British artist Stuart Mayes invites three UK based artists to talk about the situation as they find it. Michael Petry and Roberto Ekholm have their own practices, in addition they run MOCA London, an artist-run project with over twenty years’ experience of working with British and European artists. Derek Curtis is a London‑based artist who has established a strong commercial career in Germany. The impact of Brexit is felt by them in both similar and distinct ways.
Movement of goods
That might be the same here but no-one knows. You go to the Arts Council website which directs you to the government’s
Roberto Ekholm: We have not seen the full impact of Brexit.
website, which tells you to speak with your shipper, and the
When I contacted a shipper to get a quote for taking the
shipper does not know anything. When doing a touring show we
Nature Morte show to the US possibly next year he could very
do not even know how long work can be out of this country
easily answer about that but he could not give an answer
without incurring fines. We had a problem in Norway and work
about Europe.1 I cannot say to any museum in Europe “this
had to come back to the UK and then to Sweden. Once it was in
will be fine, the exhibition can travel”.
Sweden it was no problem to go to Poland and then back to England, but that is now completely taken away.
Michael Petry: The real question is how institutions in Europe are going to have to deal with the VAT.2 If someone ships an
MP: So right now we cannot look towards any shows – nobody
artwork to us in London we would have to pay 20% in VAT on
can take the risk. If you want to get something from the UK to
the value of it. If we then sent it back we could reclaim the
Europe the only way to do it is to ship it to Belfast, and drive it
VAT, but we still have to pay the VAT upfront. Let’s say you
to Dublin – because there are no checks and then it is in Europe
wanted to bring in a work by Richter for a show – can you
and then you can send it anywhere without any tax. But
imagine the VAT on that? It’s impossible! Tate has an
officially you would be in contravention of the rules. This
arrangement with the government where they are consid-
border between Northern and Southern Ireland has just made it completely bizarre
have to pay the VAT. There are four or
in terms of how
five other museums that have that
things can be
situation. RE: The important thing is that the government has not established how this [the movement of artworks] is going to work. Norway has set up rules, so when I have work stuck in customs – which has happened several times – I go to the Norwegian government website and copy their rules and tell customs that these are your rules and this is how it works.
1 A large group show that includes artworks from both UK and European artists. 2 Value Added Tax paid to Her Majesty’s Inland Revenue, UK.
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Miles Coote, ’Queer life drawing’, Peckham Queer Art Boot Fair organised by MOCA London, Sunday 29 August 2021, photo: Brigit Sanchez Calles
ered to be a ’free port’ so they never
moved across it. RE: It is one thing to have VAT on a sale, but this is just about taking the work into another country. I could take my work to Germany and sell it there and I would have to pay tax there; the same in Norway – you pay tax when you sell. But the rules here are
